Ann and EJ curate a robust show starting with three short stories and one big story. Below is the agenda:

Short Story #1 Why you should consider voting in the GOP primary

Short Story #2 The highs and lows of Tarrant County leadership
- Tarrant County commissioners deny Trinity Metro funding to provide free rides to polls
- Tarrant votes to bring back inmates from private prison
- Tarrant OKs sale of forfeited guns by sheriff’s office
- Tarrant Health director addressed accusations in a letter before his resignation

Short Story #3 FWISD cut 100+ positions. Will schools be next?
- Job cuts
- Supt says schools won't be considered for closure until after the study
- Economist attendance article

BIG STORY: Planning Challenges and Opportunities around the County
- City Shopping
- EMS options
- Basswood Elementary
- Next-Gen Transit
- Air Pollution

Wins and Losses:
EJ:
👍 BNSF donates $2M to Juneteenth Museum
👎 Other large DFW companies not following BNSF
Ann:
👍 Event at Arling Height High School at 6PM on Wednesday February 28th
👎 Dallas City Manager Resigns

We have a lot to cover and unpack. Be prepared for a lot of rants from EJ! We start local, but the big story is about what is happening at the state level that keeps Texas in the news. We honestly assess political decision-making and why Abbott is obsessed with immigration.

Do not forget to vote in your primary starting March 5th 👇🏿

https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/en/elections.html

Watch the Tarrant County primary candidate debates live.

SHORT STORY #1 Tarrant to look at terminating contract after state finds private jail out of compliance

SHORT STORY #2  Tarrant public health director resigns after a decade-long stint in the position

SHORT STORY #3 Tarrant Transportation Summit

BIG STORY: A brief overview of the drama and shenanigans among our Texas Politicians

We cover a smorgasbord of topics
- Texas GOP leaders reverse course, ban antisemites from party
- Texas Democrats and Republicans split on border proposal — not necessarily on party lines
- FBI foils 2022 plot by militiamen to “start a war” at the Texas-Mexico border
- Border security overpowers school vouchers
-Texas conservatives test how far they can extend abortion and gender-transition restrictions beyond state lines

Supporting Documents to EJ's Rants:
- How to detoxify the politics of migration
- Biden is doing great, which is why they are obsessed with immigration

WINS AND LOSSES

Ann:
👍 Indoor Farm
👎 DFFW

EJ:
👍 Dickies
👎 Dallas Stadium

Ann and EJ are joined by Tarrant County Democratic Chair Chrystal Gayden. She gives updates on the future of the party and how we can come together to support talented options in our local elections. As usual, we start with three short stories and end with wins and losses.  Make sure to follow the Tarrant County Democratic Party and support where you can!

🚨🚨 FOLLOW TARRANT DEMOCRATIC PARTY 🚨🚨

Short Story #1: Debrief on TCU Panel about the Challenges to Democracy

Short Story #2: Fort Worth Magzine 'Don't Cali My Cowtown' story

- EJ's data he references

Short Story #3: The Future of Fort Worth's Philanthropy

BIG STORY: Interview with Crystal Gayden

Wins and Losses:

Ann:
👎 Flying Taxis
👍 Keith Lee Highlights Tastes Project

EJ:
👎 Fort Worth's Entertainment District
👍 FWISD's new student ran grocery store

We have our first interview of the new year! Robert Sturns from the city's economic development team joins us for the third time. We also share some concerning updates from the Sandman Hotel investigation and FWISD's new grading system. Enjoy!

SHORT STORY #1: Exclusive interview with Sandman Hotel workers shows concerns

SHORT STORY # 2: Fort Worth is the only big Texas city not to publicize its police vehicle pursuit policy

SHORT STORY #3: No more letter grades? Here's what Fort Worth ISD parents will see on report cards

BIG STORY: Interview with Robert Sturns

Wins and Losses:

Ann:
👎 Greyhound is closing its Dallas terminal
👎 DFW home inspector concerned about fast new construction
👍 Vida Cafe

EJ:
👎 Texas Affordability: New Harvard Study Shows Most Texans are Paying Too Much for Rent
👎 Texas Leads in Affordable Health Care Acts Sign-Ups

Welcome back to your favorite Fort Worth podcast. We are ready to make 2024 a special year of content and connection, and we appreciate all of you who join us weekly.

Below is the order of the show: 👇🏿

SHORT STORY #1: Explosion at Fort Worth Sandman Hotel

- Musume employees told management of gas odor before Sandman hotel explosion: $177M Lawsuit

SHORT STORY #2: Will Arlington get the FIFA World Cup

- Fort Worth area looks to score transit win ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup

SHORT STORY #3: Register to Vote

- Check you registration areas here -> https://gisit.tarrantcounty.com/TCVL/

BIG STORY: Tarrant County’s Sheriff Waybourn fields questions about jail deaths during heated forum

WATCH TOWN HALL LIVE 🚨

WINS AND LOSSES:

Ann:
👍 New Chief Transformation Officer
👎 How Long Before We Can Ride a Bullet Train to Fort Worth?

EJ:
👍 Mayor Parker Voices Concerns of Extremism Partisan Politics
- Matt Berry's Podcast Interview
👎 Commercial Real Estate
- The Office Market Had It Hard in 2023. Next Year Looks Worse (WSJ)
- The New Geography of American's Growth (Apricitas Economics)

What is going on beautiful people this is the LAST EPISODE for the year! Go checkout some old interviews as you can even here Ann’s episode when she was running for mayor :) This episode is for the nerdy OG’s of the pod where we go line by line naming and introducing candidates who filed to run this upcoming election cycle. We focus on the democratic side of the ticket fyi.

Short Story #1: Ken Paxton Threatens Medical Professionals Over Approved Abortion

Short Story #2: TechStars: Why the epicenter of public health innovation is happening right here in funky town

Short Story #3: Moves on Transportation both Locally and Nationally

BIG STORY: Who filed to run for office in 2024?

Wins and Losses:

Ann

W: Two additional neighborhoods added to the improvement fund

L: Iconic venues/bars close down

EJ

W: Kanye West Uses River by Leon Bridges on Latest Album

L: Locked Martin needs to do more for defense innovation

EJ sits down with Alex and Lydia, the two founding leaders of Tarrant 4 Change (https://linktr.ee/tarrant4change). You may be familiar with their work due to their social media presence or involvement across multiple initiatives around the community. EJ gets to sit down with these two forward thinkers to discuss everything in Tarrant County and why we must wake up and get involved. Join their Organizing Fund now!

Have you enjoyed this episode? Check out our episode about vouchers and environmental racism in Texas.

Short Story #1: TCU increases tuition past $60K
- College Tuition Is Falling For The First Time In Decades
Short Story #2: The largest city in the US without mass public transit?
- High-speed rail: Should Dallas to Fort Worth be Texas’ first route?
Short Story #3: These Fort Worth ISD schools could be among the first considered for closures
BIG STORY: Fort Worth leads Texas in population gain as Dallas-Fort Worth’s total tops 8 million
- More than two-thirds of Texas’ 30.3 million residents live in the four largest metro areas 
- Fort Worth is the 4th most 'house rich' city in America
- Housing shortfall unknown in Dallas Audit
- Tarrant’s evicted children and the state’s hidden homeless crisis
- Texas reports high pollution from gas-powered lawn equipment. Where does Tarrant rank?
- Fort Worth’s water risks contamination from proposed private landfill, residents say
- “Help families be more successful:” $2.5M grant assists Tarrant County Homeless Coalition
- Fort Worth has a new environmental department. What do residents want from it?

Wins and Losses:
EJ:
👎  Abbott backs Trump
👍 Fort Worth wanted more contracts with minority-, women-owned businesses. How has it done?
Ann:
👎 Small Business Saturday Activity
👍 The power of small businesses and why we should support them

Ann and EJ cover various topics that interweave into a comprehensive episode about vouchers, systemic racism, and demography. Enjoy the episode!

Short Story #1: House strikes vouchers from Texas education bill. How Tarrant County lawmakers voted

Short Story #2: Residents want Fort Worth council to recognize ‘environmental racism’ in neighborhoods

- How to stay in the loop with city announcements

Short Stort #3: Blockchain conference brings candidates and senators to Fort Worth

- Global Entrepreneurship Week

BIG STORY: What It Means to Be a Texan Is Changing in Surprising Ways

Wins and Losses:

Ann
👍 Longtime election judges offer skeptics a front-row look at election security
👎 Federal budget cuts could derail Amtrak’s big plan for Fort Worth passenger rail

EJ
👍 Cook Children’s, JPS break ground on Las Vegas Trail health center
👎 Tarrant County Public Health ends free flu shots. Here’s what happened

Welcome back to the 817 podcast, where Ann and EJ dissect the current renting and housing data in the city. The big story is the future of urban core living and how cities like Fort Worth have to compete the with the Friscos of the world. Enjoy!

Short Story #1: Update on who is running for Kay Granger's seat

- No Mattie.
- No Manny.
- No Nathan.

Short Story #2: Texas has 13 new constitutional amendments. Here’s what it means for Tarrant County

Short Story #3: New Texas law puts Tarrant County Republican primary in ‘jeopardy,’ GOP leader says

BIG STORY: Rent increases begin to slow as new apartments hit market

- New apartments across DFW start to trend down
- Owning a Home Has Gotten Pricey, Fast. A Market Adjustment Is Coming
- Frisco

Wins and Losses:

👎 Fort Worth scraps plan for new downtown library location, starts looking elsewhere👎 Tarrant Democratic Party
👎 Hundreds of dogs and cats are killed every month in Fort Worth

👍 Northside Community Conversations
👍 Leon Bridges and Mavs Collab